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Language and Music

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Infant Brain Development
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Abstract

The learning of language begins in the womb. Children start talking like an instinct. During the first year they are able to learn any language easily, while it is more difficult to learn a new mother’s tongue after 3 years. This is related to synaptogenesis which peaks in the language areas around 8 months. The infant prefers a voice with high pitch, which is why the mother automatically speaks motherese. Infants prefer harmonic music.

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Lagercrantz, H. (2016). Language and Music. In: Infant Brain Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44845-9_9

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